• Officers to stay in one station less than four years.
•Officers who overstay in one station integrate with criminals and compromise war on crime.
Thousands of police officers maybe transferred in a new delocalisation policy announced by Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i.
Speaking when he toured Matungu constituency to assess the soaring crime on Thursday, Matiang’i said police officers will, starting this year, be delocalised to address complacence in the war against crime.
“We have discussed and agreed with the National Police Service and IG that security officers start the delocalised deployment of police officers to end the situation where officers serve in their home areas for many years,” he said.
Matiang’i said the new policy will start from Western region next week.
He said this will end complacence by police officers caused by overstaying in stations in their home areas.
He said no officer will be allowed to serve in one station for more than four years and those who have been in the same stations longer will be moved.
Delocalisation caused uproar in the Education ministry when the government decided to move secondary school principals from serving in their home areas.
Teacher unions and political leaders across the country opposed the new policy saying it would lead to family breakups.
Matiang'i warned politicians against creating gangs to demonstrate their might.
The CS was accompanied by IG Hillary Mutyambai, Western regional commissioner Anne Ng’etich, Western regional police commander Rashid Yakub, Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya and Matungu MP Justus Murunga.
Matiang’i announced upgrading of Matungu police station to a divisional police station and have more police officers posted to the area to combat insecurity.
He said that Mulwanda and Kilingili police posts will also be improved and given vehicles and more officers to deal with crime.
Matiang’i asked enforcement officers earlier employed by defunct local authorities and supplied with guns to regularise their ownership by obtaining licenses.
“We’ll vet these people before issuing them with gun ownership licences because some of them may not be mentally unstable. Some of them hire out the guns to criminals to commit crime,” he said.
He said the government had by last week recovered 5, 000 guns and 25, 000 bullets from unlicensed gun holders in the country.
He also said that the government, in conjunction with county governments, will review the licensing regime of the alcoholic drinks premises.